SPORTSBIZ -- KEVIN KLEPS

The excitement over landing the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft has faded for the Cavaliers

Blog Entry: June 26, 2013 10:59 AM | Author: KEVIN KLEPS

When I read this ESPN report, I thought Cavaliers general manager Chris Grant had lost his mind.

Then a few minutes passed, and the rumored trade offer — the Cavs would send Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters and the No. 1 overall pick in Thursday's draft to Minnesota for Kevin Love — sunk in.

The Cavs would have two All-Stars in Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love under the age of 25.

Love, who led the league in rebounding in 2010-11 and was second in the category in 2011-12, is a two-time All-Star who is much better than Thompson in every facet.

Paired with Irving, the Cavs would need one more All-Star-caliber player for their own Big Three (the key to any championship foundation in the NBA), and they would have plenty of salary cap space to acquire one in free agency this summer or next.

The Timberwolves, alas, reportedly turned down the trade offer — where is David Kahn when you need him? — and the Cavs, if you believe the rumors, have now been rebuffed in attempts to acquire Love and Trail Blazers power forward All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge.

That tells us two things:

1. The Cavs know they need to pair Irving with multiple All-Stars, and they're aware they might not have another one on their roster.

There were no doubts that James, Howard, Rose, Griffin, Wall, Irving and Davis would be very good.

Oden was expected to be great, too, but injuries ruined that, and Kevin Durant will forever be the Michael Jordan to Oden's Sam Bowie.

The others — Bogut and Bargnani — were the top picks in weak drafts, a description that often is applied to the Class of 2013.

Bogut and Bargnani have never made an All-Star team and have been dogged by injuries the last two seasons (Bogut has played 44 games in that span, and Bargnani has appeared in 66).

Bogut had one big season — 2009-10, when he averaged 15.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per contest. Bargnani averaged 21.4 points in 2010-11, but he's a 7-footer who makes Chris Bosh look like a monster in the paint (Bargnani's career high is 6.2 rebounds per game).

The Cavs can't afford to take a player the caliber of Bogut or Bargnani first overall, and the thought of Len and Noel — two big men with red flags — makes that seem like a scary possibility.

Maybe they're more aware of that scenario than anyone, which is why we keep seeing the Cavs pop up in almost every rumored draft-night trade.

There's also this: Even in weak drafts, future All-Stars are available. In 2005, Deron Williams and Chris Paul went third and fourth, respectively. In 2006, Aldridge was taken one spot after Bargnani.

If McLemore is this draft's sure thing, the Cavs should take him — regardless of position (like Waiters, he's a shooting guard).

Select the best player, and worry about the implications later.

Do anything but remind us of Andrew Bogut and Andrea Bargnani.

The Heat is on ... Pat Riley

On staying with the Heat past the summer of 2014: “This is what we came here for, so that would be the ultimate. But you can never ... I don't know, life changes, things happen, and we have to be prepared for that. But this is what we all want to be here for, that's to be able to compete for a championship each and every year. And if we can do that, then it'd be awesome.”

On opting out of his contract next year and exploring free agency: “I've been in this position before. I've heard it before. It can't get any worse than my season before I became a free agent in 2010.”

LeBron has learned his lesson from The Decision, but he remains a true pro when it comes to putting all the pressure on the organization to make sure he's happy and the supporting cast is up to his standards.

Brownie bits

Let's hope he's being honest: We've already questioned the Browns' strange choice of Armonty Bryant in the seventh round of the 2013 draft.

Bryant was arrested in college for selling marijuana — on campus, on back-to-back days — then was in hot water again, this time for allegedly driving drunk less than a week after he was selected by the Browns.

Bryant was open about his problems, and his statement that the team's top pick — Barkevious Mingo — has been helping him off the field was encouraging, and even heart-warming for the most cynical among us.

As more former Pilot Flying J executives plead guilty in the rebate scam, and more agree to cooperate with the government's investigation (the list is up to five), the more we wait for the final hammer to drop — on the owner of the Browns.

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